That Attitude
by Windy Rain
Summary: Years before the current events, they had met. What might have happened?


Author's Note: This is my first Kuroko no Basket fanfic! After I saw the first episode of the anime, I got addicted to it and read the manga up-to-date over the next days. It's totally awesome!

This fanfic was inspired by the friendship between Hyuuga Junpei and Kiyoshi Teppei. Although I love the manga, I don't know much about basketball, so please understand if I got some information wrong :) I hope you enjoy this one-shot! Oh, and I kept spoilers to a minimum, so feel free to read - and review.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

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_"Let's all go have fu~n!"_

Stupid, stupid, stupid… Those words were annoying as hell. Of course basketball is a sport which everyone enjoys, but can't you be serious? At least once in a while?

Always easygoing, never hot-tempered. That calm, cool, collected attitude is actually a plus factor in basketball where vigorous movements and actions are around. Emotions are easily fired up and if you aren't careful, you would rage and lose concentration. Both physical and mental stability are a must, yet still hard to maintain during the whole match.

Not to mention it could get frustrating if you weren't careful with your belongings on the court. Especially your glasses.

Hyuuga Junpei had broken several glasses before. There were times he had to visit an eye specialist more than five times a year just so that he could get another pair. He usually carried a spare whenever there was a basketball match, but rough plays often resulted in breaking the spare as well. Experienced players don't really make many body contacts (unless it were on purpose), but in Hyuuga's case, it wasn't just because the opponents had terrible skills and performed horribly on the court. There were some teenagers who weren't aware of their growth and swung their arms around as they used to do as little kids. Only after their elbow had smacked someone square in the face did they realize what they had done.

And Hyuuga often failed to avoid at the right timing during his early basketball years. His glasses got knocked off, the lens cracked by the force of either the hit or the fall. There were times when the referee blew the whistle a few seconds late and someone stepped on his glasses by mistake, damaging the frames.

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The exact thing happened during a match. Hyuuga's school was playing against a strong team, and they were trying hard to keep up. Being the good shooter he was, he scored for most of his team, but even with his specialty three-pointers, they had never been able to take the lead. During the second quarter, he was knocked over, and his glasses flew off. There was no force in it, so it was obviously an accident, but nevertheless, he was irritated. Hyuuga heard someone apologize, but he didn't take note of him. That was the last spare glasses he had, and thankfully, it had survived the fall. He was about to pick it up when a large foot stepped on it. The sound of plastic cracks seemed to echo in his ears, and Hyuuga felt disappointed. He wasn't exactly blind, but everything around him was blurry – he could not shoot a basketball even from right beneath the hoop without his glasses. Sighing, he sent a hand signal in the direction of his team bench, and they called a time out. Hyuuga looked for his glasses on the court, but was surprised to see that they weren't there. Maybe the referee picked it up? He decided to wait till the first half was over – he had to switch out for now.

The game was already in the opponents favor, and although Hyuuga couldn't see what was going on, he knew that they were losing. The gap he had tried to keep small was widening – his team was getting owned without their shooter, and Hyuuga happened to be the only one who could score three-pointers in his team. Also, it didn't help that the opponent's ace was on a higher level than anyone else. He was a large boy, and wasn't easily pushed around.

After the buzzer, Hyuuga asked his teammate to get his glasses from the referee, but said friend returned with empty hands. The referee hadn't seen it, either, so where had it gone? Not that it mattered now that it was probably broken and useless.

"Excuse me!" Just before the start of the second half, a boy with a large build tapped him on the shoulder. Hyuuga squinted, but he could barely make out the boy's face.

"This is yours, right? Sorry I stepped on it." With an apology, he extended his hand and Hyuuga received whatever he was giving. It was his glasses, sticky with too much tape all over the frames. The lens somehow only had a few scratches – a miracle when considering it was stepped on.

"I tried to fix it, but I guess my hands are too large for doing anything delicate." The boy said half-jokingly. Hyuuga put them on, and the world was looking better for him. He was about to thank the boy, when he realized that he was a member of the other team, and doubt pushed away the gratitude. The large boy was known as the ace, and Hyuuga was surprised that he of all people would do something 'petty' as fixing the opponents glasses.

"But we're playing against each other – and I'm the only shooter on my team. Don't you think it would've been better if you just let me sit on the bench?"

"You're the best shooter I've met till now." The boy grinned. "Let's play in the match together. It's more exciting that way."

"What if I beat your team? Wouldn't you regret for fixing my glasses?" Hyuuga wasn't entirely sure if what he said would actually be realized. The boy didn't seem to take it seriously, and laughed.

"I won't regret that. But I would've felt bad if you had to sit on the bench without being able to see the rest of the match. Besides, don't you like to play basketball, participate in matches yourself?"

"As a matter of fact, I do." Hyuuga puffed up, preparing a battle of eyes and expressions. "We're not going to lose!"

"Then let's go have fu~n!" The boy said happily, moving over to his position on the court. Hyuuga didn't know how to react – he was appalled. Was that really the attitude of an ace?

Hyuuga managed to bring up the score to a gap less than 10 points, but still they lost. Losing had always felt bitter, and it felt worse that day. He had to switch out in the middle of a match – not for strategy or health problems, but because the stupid ace had stepped on his glasses. Some of his hair got stuck to the tape on his glasses, and his teammates had to pull it off for him while he howled in pain – all because the stupid ace had used too much sticky tape. Moreover, what he didn't notice in the first half was that the ace guy was actually enjoying himself on the court. What, can't you be more serious? Hyuuga so wanted to wipe that smile off his face, but failed to do so.

The big boy might've been honest and easygoing, but Hyuuga was frustrated with the exact behavior. It's a match where everybody gives their all! That carefree mind certainly wasn't amusing, and he was sure that it was going to get someone mad at him like Hyuuga did – and that someone was going to teach Mr. Big Boy a lesson once and for all. He never thought that he would admire such an attitude like that during the years to come.

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And to imagine his shock when the exact same boy was later to be known as one of the crownless genius, Iron Heart – Kiyoshi Teppei, who would found the Seirin basketball team. Kiyoshi seemed to have forgotten, but Hyuuga still remembers that day when Kiyoshi broke his glasses – and fixed it, and is quite grateful to have met him before. He never talks about the incident, but Hyuuga intends to thank Kiyoshi someday.

_"Everybody ready? Let's go have fu~n!"_

Though, that attitude was still annoying as hell.

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Author's Note: I accept all reviews, please! But no flames!


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